Published 14:50 IST, January 11th 2020
Kolkata spectacle: PM Modi and WB CM Mamata Banerjee to share stage at light-&-sound show
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are going to share the stage on Saturday at the Millennium Park in Kolkata.
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Amid the massive protest taking place in West Bengal against the amended Citizenship Act, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are going to share the stage at an event on Saturday in Kolkata. Prime Minister Modi will be inaugurating a light-and-sound show in Kolkata at the Millennium Park on Saturday evening. This meeting comes at the time when Mamata Banerjee, who is at loggerheads with the Centre over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and has also targeted Prime Minister Modi over it and accused the saffron camp of dividing the masses on religious lines.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is on a two-day visit to West Bengal is also scheduled to visit Ramakrishna Mission to mark Swami Vivekananda's birth anniversary on January 12. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi expressed his excitement to visit the place which is 'special' to him.
I am excited to be in West Bengal today and tomorrow. I am delighted to be spending time at the Ramakrishna Mission and that too when we mark Swami Vivekananda’s Jayanti. There is something special about that place.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 11, 2020
A major rift seems to be emerging among the Opposition parties as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday stated that she will be boycotting the Opposition meeting at the National Capital. She also called out the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress party of playing dirty politics in West Bengal. Adding to her statement, she further stated that she will fight against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Amended Citizenship Act alone. Earlier on Wednesday, Mamata Banerjee had slammed Congress and the Left Front for alleged violence and vandalism during Wednesday's Bharat Bandh in the state.
Banerjee had gone to New Delhi last September and met Modi in a "courtesy call" after the Lok Sabha polls. The changes in citizenship law have emerged as the latest flashpoint in the state, with the TMC opposing the legislation tooth and nail, and the BJP pressing for its implementation.
PM's itinerary
PM Modi will also unveil a plaque of 150 years of commemorative installation at the site of original Port Jetties and will inaugurate the upgraded ship repair facility of Cochin Kolkata Ship Repair Unit at Netaji Subhas Dry Dock along with other inaugurations on Saturday. PM will be staying at Belur Math on Saturday night. On Sunday morning he will take a ferry and come back to Millennium Park from where he will be going to Netaji Indoor Stadium for Port Trust's event. Apart from that, PM Modi shall visit heritage buildings on Saturday, where he will dedicate to the nation four refurbished heritage buildings in the city including the old Currency Building, the Belvedere House, the Metcalfe House, and the Victoria Memorial Hall.
The Ministry of Information & Cultural Affairs has renovated these four iconic galleries and refurbished them with new exhibitions while curating the old galleries. After a night stay at the Raj Bhawan, Prime Minister Modi will also participate in the celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust on Sunday. He will be handing over a cheque of 501 crore rupees towards the final installment to meet the deficit of pension fund of retired and existing employees of the Kolkata Port Trust. Following these events, PM will head back to Delhi on the afternoon of 12 January.
14:50 IST, January 11th 2020